The Phoenix rises

This little needlepoint, about 4 x 4.5 inches, one view slightly bigger than the other, is from a chart in Monica Ferris' detective mystery Thai Die!  it's of the Han Phoenix, a work on silk, one of the oldest of preserved Chinese embroideries, now in some museum in China, and for me it's an interval between goldwork and beading.  I'm working it on 24 count canvas, three strands of floss. The background is three different greens in each set of three strands, to give a mossy sort of effect as a contrast with the plain unmixed colors of the bird. I did change the plumage on the body, though, because I liked this more variegated look.

 

The next beading AND goldwork at the same time piece, is a nice shell on rich brown fabric, part of the stash my friend unloaded on me, but I'm not doing what the kit says, which is wool crewel, but instead I'm going to figure out how to use goldwork and the seed beads in many shades of brown and gold I scored at the thrift store in the form of a necklace.

And last night, at a farewell-for-the-moment,we'll-see-you-again for an embroidery friend, she gave stash items of her own to any takers, and I was prevailed on to accept a giant, very heavy, beaded and embroidered Indian wallhanging.  I need to put a fabric slot thing, correct name escapes me, on the back, to slide a dowel through, in order to hang it, at which I point I'll make a pic of it.  It's amazing, and will dominate any space I put it in. Next trick is to find a big enough wall....